C'est La Vie
by The Unbearded Marxist
Summary: -AU MuggleHarry- A story about Harry growing up as a Muggle. Years after his disapearance, he is found again. How will he react when he finds out he is a wizard? CONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is just something I scribbled down this week, and I thought 'why not post it?'… So I did, hope you like it. Inspired by something I honestly can't remember :P R&R?**

The city was bustling. Even though it was three o'clock in the afternoon and people were still at work, that didn't matter. The streets were full and packed.

And me? I'm just going about my business. Well that's not true. Even though this started as another regular day, I know very well that it isn't.

Let me start at the beginning.

Two days ago, and this was a normal day. Taking a break from work, and eating my lunch at McDonald's. Not that I like it so much don't get me wrong, but the Mac is just around the corner from my work. So I go there and eat a burger and some fries, drink my milkshake and get back to work.

Only this time, it's different.

She is there. Beautiful, sexy, strikingly hot. I have never seen her before. As I'm eating my Big Mac, I see her entering. She's wearing skinny jeans, a green and black blouse, a beanie… Plain sexy. I check her out as she orders a meal, and as she goes to sit down, on the other side of the restaurant. Fifteen minutes pass, and I have to go back to work. So I slurp up the last of my shake, throw it away, and head for the door.

And that's when she sees me. Or at least, when I see her seeing me. She smiles, and of course, I smile back. She gestures, and I think she wants me to join her. And so I stop dead in my tracks, door open, and looking at her. As I contemplate my choices of going back to a boring day at the office, or having a little bit longer lunch with this girl, the decision seems easy.

I'm pulled out of my daydream by the man behind the counter.

"Yo dude, shut the goddamn door man!" I am startled, and look up, apologize. So now that the door is closed, I don't see why I won't sit down with her.

We have a great time, and half an hour later, I find myself calling in sick at work, and heading back to my place with her.

At night, we just watch TV. Nothing is on but it doesn't really matter. We talk. Not about ourselves but… Life in general. TV shows, fashion, music… She's a Led Zeppelin fan, and I like this. So I show her my guitar, and we play for a while.

Later she sleeps in my bed. Don't get the wrong idea, she was alone. I took the couch. The next morning when I enter my kitchen, she's up already, wearing nothing but her panties and a t-shirt, eating a bowl of cereal. I apologize because I see it's the cereal that's been standing around for a good month, maybe two now. She looks at me weird and asks why I'm sorry, so I drop the subject.

After breakfast I go back to work, and leave her in my studio, with all my stuff. And on my way to my work, I realize that despite all the talking and laughing we did, I knew nothing about her, not even her name.

When I get back after work, she's still there. We order take-out and watch a movie. I don't remember the title, but it was one of those standard Hollywood romcoms, so we had a good time making fun of the movie.

After that and two bottles of wine, we end up in my bed, together this time. We have sex, and more than once. It was great. I knew her name now.

Fleur.

And that's how we wind up at this day. Remember, I was telling what happened. Today is Saturday, and we have spend all day till now just roaming around the city, he hanging on my arm like she is my girlfriend or something. And I don't mind. I'll be damned if I do.

Suddenly, she stops. I frown and look at her.

"What's up?" I ask. She seems in thought for a moment, as if she were somewhere else completely. But then that moment passes, and she smiles brightly at me.

"Come on, follow me mister," and she runs across the street, causing a car to pull his handbrake and fire of his horn like Steamboat Willy. I chuckle uneasily, and follow after her. When I reach the other side of the street, I go back into walking pace. But she keeps running. I want to call after her to slow down, wait for me. But I don't. I start running too, running until I'm right next to her. My side aches and I'm panting; my stamina does not get that much of a work out on a daily basis.

Finally, we stop, and I bend over, holding a streetlight for support, still panting. She raises an eyebrow and looks down on me, with a playful expression.

"Come on grandpa, keep up." I chuckle, but it sounds wrong while I'm still panting.

"Hold your horses Seabiscuit… Where are we going?" she shrugs and dances around me.

"Do we need a destination?" I'm better now, and straighten up. I try to look at her as she dances around me.

"Not necessarily, but I like to know why we're doing all this effort to go… Nowhere in particular." And she sighs. God she is cute when she sighs. Don't ask me why, it's just the way her face looks when she does it. She raises her hand and points. I follow her finger and… I chuckle.

McDonald's.

The same one we first met. Now as I look around, I recognize the neighborhood. My workplace is just around the corner. Did we really runs this far? I shrug it off.

We go inside the restaurant, and she grabs my arm again. I love it. When we reach the counter, we are greeted by a tall dark skinned man with a bored expression.

"Good afternoon," I say, but all he does is stare at me. I swallow.

"Right… Can I have two cheeseburgers-" I ask.

"No cheese for me." She interrupts me.

"Make that one hamburger and a cheeseburger…" I look at her and she sticks her tongue out. The man behind the counter is ticking away at his screen, oblivious to us. Almost.

"Do you want fries with that?"

"Yeah."

"A coke?"

"Strawberry milkshake for me and…" I look at Fleur, and she shakes her head.

"And just a coke for the lady."

Finally we get our food, and sit down. I unwrap my burger, and see that Fleur already dug into hers. As I take a bite of mine, I shudder.

"Mine has no cheese…" I say, and she laughs. When I look at her with my eyebrow raised, she says,

"Mine does."

"I thought you wanted without cheese?" I say, and she nods.

"True, but you wanted with cheese, so this is light entertainment for me." she says as she eats the last bit of my cheeseburger. Now it's my turn to stick out my tongue.

Ten minutes later we walk out the restaurant, arm in arm. I check my watch. Only a quarter past four. I look at her.

"Whaddaya want to do now?" she shrugs, and also checks her watch.

"I have to go." My mood falls.

"Oh…" she bites her lip.

"Can I get your number? You know, call you?" she smiles but shakes her head.

"I don't have a phone." Well that's great I think. But then she grins at me.

"I know where you live though… I can drop by whenever I can." And she leans in.

"I hope you do-" and my words are cut off by her kissing me. It was a nice kiss, and just as I put my arms around her waist, she breaks loose. She turns around and walks off.

"Bye Harry," she says, "I'll see you around."

I watch her go, hoping she would turn around a last time or come back. But she reaches the corner and rounds it. Gone.

That night, I was alone again. And I didn't like it. The next day, Sunday, I spent all day in bed. On Monday, I go back to work, but I leave the door unlocked. Maybe when I get back, she'll be there, waiting for me with a bowl of cereal at the kitchen table.

But when I get back, everything is exactly as it used to be in the morning. No cereal, no Fleur.

It goes like this the whole week, and every day I get a little more sad. When I get back from work on Thursday, I find my place raided. My guitar is gone, my DVD's, most of my vinyl records, my laptop. Thankfully they left the TV. But maybe that's because I don't have a flat screen, but one of those big ones.

I call the police but with no success. The burglars didn't leave behind any evidence. On top of that, the police officer tells me that since my door was not locked, they can't consider it a robbery. From that day forward my door is locked.

So the rest of the week passes, and again. It's Saturday. It has been a full week since I last saw Fleur now, and I've grown… Sad. Every morning, I make two bowls of cereal, just in case she drops by. I watch out to sleep only on my side of the bed, so I don't lay on her ghost. But she hasn't come back.

So Saturday night, I'm in front of the TV, eating take-out Chinese. After I saw my favorite TV shows, the news comes on. Nothing new, the usual crap. But near the end, there is a report of a girl who's had an accident. It happened today, in my street. I frown, but can't blame myself. I had been out until only a few hours ago, a lot could've happened.

Then a picture of the girl comes on screen, and I drop my food on the ground.

Fleur.

Oh my god that is Fleur! I turn up the volume to listen to what hospital she was brought. It wasn't mentioned, and I curse the news. But as they move on to a new topic, I see the news-headliner about Fleur scrolling by at the bottom of the screen. And hallelujah, the hospital is mentioned. I grab my jacket and shoes, and move out of the door as fast as possible.

When I get to the hospital, I ask the receptionist where Fleur is. She gives me the floor and room number, and I run off to the elevators.

I'm nervous all the way up, and when the elevator stopped it's low buzzing and the doors slide open, I sprint out of it, franticly looking around for her room.

When I find it, I don't knock. I bust right in.

"Fleur-" but I stop in mid sentence as I see two doctors and a nurse gathered there. The closest doctor, an Indian man, maybe ten years older than me, looks at me.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" out of breath, I answer.

"I'm Harry, I'm a friend of Fleur's… Is she-"but the Indian doctor moves me out of the room.

"I'm sorry sir, but you're not allowed to be here." And as he says this, I see the nurse flipping a switch.

What follows is a silence, seemingly lasting for an eternity. And then, it kicks in. The sound of the heart monitor going flat line. The Indian doctor is still holding me back, and when the truth hits me, I cry out.

"NO! YOU'RE KILLING HER! You bastard you KILLED HER…"

"I'm sorry sir, but you really have to leave-" I am crying, and out of anger and frustration, I punch the doctor. He lands flat out on the ground, clenching his jaw. I see the other doctor coming at me and I get ready for another punch, but I'm surprised by a police officer behind me. He grabs me in a headlock and throws me on the ground. He sits on top of me, in a way so that I can't move my arms. He was older than me, maybe forty, but still very strong.

"Sir, please calm down, there is no need for-" but I'm not listening. I manage to free my left arm and swing it at the security guard. He falls off of me and I try to get back up and back into Fleur's room. But before I'm even on both knees, the officer hits me with his stun gun.

It hurt. It hurt like never ever hurt me before, and as all the electricity goes through my body, I can't control myself. I piss myself. The officer cuffs me and takes me away.

I spend three days at the police station. I can't stop thinking about Fleur, and I can't control myself. I rip up the pillows and the blanket they gave me. Every time they bring me food, I throw it through my cell. After three days I'm released with a verbal slap on the wrist and a fee of two-hundred pounds, for destroying property. Whatever.

At home I call work why I wasn't there, and they give me a few days off. Then I fall onto my bed, and I cry.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ok, so here is chapter 2. I had a review from someone asking for a little bit of… clarity regarding Fleur's accident. So this chapter will be from Fleur's POV.**

**Hope you like it.**

The last three days have been great. I never thought I could have so much fun in the Muggle world. I even met a great guy. His name is Harry.

The lunch was OK. Very greasy, which I don't like, but it was OK nevertheless. Mostly because Harry was with me. He's sweet, and funny. And he's got a great apartment. I smile at this thought. But then I'm taken back to the real world, as he asks me something.

"Whaddaya want to do now?" and he looks at me, a happy expression on his face. I don't want it to happen, but it gives me a funny yet pleasant feeling in my tummy. I shrug, and check my watch.

Two o'clock! Merde! Maman and papa must be waiting for me. I look at him and say,

"I have to go." He doesn't look to happy about it, but he looks really cute when he pulls this face and lets out a soft 'oh'. I bite my lip trying not to giggle.

"Can I get your number? You know, call you?" I smile, but I have to disappoint him.

"I don't have a phone." It's not a lie to get rid of him. Honestly, I have never heard of a witch or wizard who owns a phone. Of course, I can't tell him that. He's just a Muggle. But then I think of something that might be better, and grin.

"I know where you live though… I can drop by whenever I can." This seems to lighten him up.

"I hope you do-" but I kiss him, and passionate at that. But as he puts his arms around me, I break loose. I don't want this kiss to last… Well I do, but if it did, I would be late. To make this easier on both of us, I just turn around and walk off. Not looking back, I wave at him.

"Bye Harry, I'll see you around." He doesn't answer, and I wonder if he's angry at me, following me to take me back to his place. Honestly, on a certain level that would be very sweet. But I really can't afford any more time. I have to get back to my parents, and then deliver a full report. I walk on and he doesn't call me, or follow me. And then, I round the corner.

I stop, and lean against the wall. Everybody just walks right past me, no one looking at me. I smile, and I feel glad that I went in Muggle disguise. I made a mental note to thank professor Snape later for coming up with that Veela power-suppressing potion, it really seemed to work. Tastes horrible though.

After a few minutes, Harry still hasn't rounded the corner, so I assume he really isn't following me. This does make me a little sad though, but still it's for the better. If he had followed me, getting back would be a little more problematic.

I start walking again and after a few minutes, I walk past a dark alleyway. I walk right in to the end, and after I make sure no one sees me, I Disapparate.

**.o0O0o.**

The next day I'm back at Hogwarts, in professor Dumbledore's office. I am dressed in my robes again, which makes me feel a lot more comfortable. Professor Snape and McGonagall are there too, and we've been here for at least ten minutes. After a while I ask.

"Can we start this meeting? This 'sitting around and doing nothing' does not seem very productive." But Dumbledore merely smiles.

"Forgive me miss Delacour, but we are still waiting for one person- ah, there you are." He said, and I heard the door behind me open and close. I look around, and see a skinny man, about the same age as professor Snape, only a little bit more… Less healthy looking. I frown, and look back at professor Snape. I take it back, Snape himself doesn't look all to healthy to me either. Anyway, this newcomer I haven't met before, and he looks poor, however rude it may be to say this. His clothes are ragged and there are dark bags under his eyes. His face is scarred, and he looks pretty beat up and out of breath.

"I'm sorry Albus, but you know… Last night, the-"

"Yes yes Remus, I know, no need to apologize. Just take a seat, and we'll move on to the matters at hand. Miss Delacour here has news which you, my dear Remus, will find most pleasuring."

The newcomer, named Remus, looked a little confused, and he stared at me. I feel a little bit uncomfortable under his gaze, but smile nonetheless. Then he seemed to snap out of his trance, and he offers me his hand.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners. Remus Lupin…" I shake his hand and introduce myself.

After Lupin was seated, Dumbledore cleared his throat, and spoke up.

"Remus, as you may not know, miss Delacour was sent on a special mission this week in Muggle London," Remus nodded but kept silent, "and I must say that her mission was a… Surprisingly great success." And now Dumbledore looks at me, with a warm smile. I smile back, proud of my work.

"Enough with the mystery Headmaster. I'm sure all of us have more matters at hand today. I don't mean to be rude, but could we please hurry this along?" Snape said in a slow and low voice. Professor McGonagall slapped his shoulder.

"Calm yourself Severus." She said sternly, and looked back at the Headmaster, giving him a small nod.

"Please Albus, do carry on."

"As you of course all know, twenty years ago the Dursley's, the family of Lily Potter's sister, was killed in a car accident. After that, which you also know, Harry went sadly missing. Even with our resources inside both the Wizarding and Muggle community, we were unable to find him…"

"We know professor, but what does this have to do with anything?" Remus said, and McGonagall shushed him. Dumbledore continued.

"A few months ago, I got word from a dear friend of mine, who's name I shall not mention, that he had found mr Potter…" he paused briefly for dramatic effect, and this clearly seemed to work. He smiled to himself. Oh he and his antics.

"Mr Potter works for a Muggle company that specializes in drills. He works there as an office clerk, but from what I gathered, this is only a part time job. He seems to still go to school, although the details about this still haven't reached me. However, this is no the good news." And this earned him more penetrating stares, except from Fleur.

"Come on professor, don't beat around the bush. Where is Harry?" Remus inquired eagerly. This news was great, if Dumbledore was telling the truth, they had finally found Harry. After all these years, Prongs junior would be back. Dumbledore mentioned him to calm down.

"The good news is that… We have actually found Harry. In fact, miss Delacour here, as been in contact with him…"

Silence. And then…

"You _saw_ Harry?" Remus turned to Fleur with a certain air of urgency. It made Fleur feel a little uncomfortable but from what she had heard about Lupin and Harry's parents, she couldn't blame him. She nodded.

"Yes mr Lupin. And, not only that, I even spoke with him. He even showed me his apartment." She stated simply. All the others, except Dumbledore, who just grinned at them with a twinkle in his eyes, looked at her in shock. Lupin seemed to much in shock or disbelief to manage any actual words, and so it was McGonagall who broke the silence?

"Are you sure? I mean, how could you know it was really Harry? Nobody has ever seen him before, except when he was a baby. He could be anybody. How can you be sure?" she fired at Fleur, who shrugged.

"Well first of all, he introduced himself as Harry Potter, which seems pretty obvious. And I also saw that scar you spoke of professor Dumbledore."

"The lightning bolt?" McGonagall snapped anxiously. Fleur nodded, and had to giggle at everybody's disbelief.

"Yes, that one. He had it, on his forehead. Looks pretty cute if you ask me… Sexy too…" she added more softly, and Snape who sat closest to her, rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"So we have indeed found the Potter boy. What now? When do we get him to Hogwarts?" but Dumbledore shook his head.

"Not too fast Severus. Getting Harry to come with us will be, I fear, troublesome. He has lived as a Muggle his entire life, and I doubt he knows anything about our world, seen that his only relatives died when he was three years old. But I think that miss Delacour managed to form a bond of some sort with Harry. Maybe using her could make things a little easier."

This didn't sound right to Fleur. True, it had been for this mission that she had met with Harry, but everything that happened afterwards; the fun, the sex, the fooling around, that had all been genuine. She shook it off. These were feelings that could be dealt with at a later time.

"Now, miss Delacour will meet with Harry again of course, but not now. She has, I believe, some business to attend to at Beauxbatons with Headmistress Maxime. Am I correct?" Fleur nodded.

"She will go back to London in about a month's time. In the meanwhile, Severus, I want you to brew more of the Veela suppressing potion. Minerva, I believe you too have things to attend to?" McGonagall nodded. Finally Dumbledore turned to Remus.

"And I must ask you Remus… Do not tell Sirius about Harry. I know you want to, and he will find out. But we have to wait until Harry is ready to come with us. I am sure you understand my concern?" Remus nodded, he fully understood. Sirius had reacted the worst of all on Harry's disappearance. After Harry had gone missing, Sirius had been released shortly afterwards. The Wizengamot, under pressure of Dumbledore, had been forced to let him go, due to lack of evidence, and now that Harry was gone, lack of a victim. He had been under constant surveillance though, but none of that had mattered. As soon as he had been told that his godson had gone missing, the last remaining Black had hit a rock-bottom depression. He had locked himself up in Grimmauld Place together with a life supply of Fire Whiskey, and rarely came out of the house. The only ones he actually spoke with were Remus, Dumbledore and oddly enough, Snape. News about Harry being found would surely make him do something unpredictable, such as going after his godson himself. And if Harry wasn't ready for the Wizarding world yet, that might scare him off for good. Because we all know how Sirius can be.

After a few more minutes, they all excused themselves from the office, and left the old Headmaster to his own thoughts.

**.o0O0o.**

It had been a month since she had last seen her, and she was happy that she was going to see him again. So happy, she was literally skipping through London.

Her business at Beauxbatons had gone fairly quick. Maxime had offered her a teaching position at the school, but with her recent involvement with the Order, which didn't seem like it would stop anytime soon, she had rejected it. Her old Headmistress had pressed her for several more days, but after a while gave up. And thus, Fleur enjoyed her free time that she had until she had to go back to London.

They had come back here the day before; her, Lupin, professor Snape and Neville Longbottom. She had met Neville once before, almost ten years earlier during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He had been a shy boy, and a little goofy. But the last decade had been good for him, and he was a handsome, intelligent wizard, working as an Auror for the Ministry. And from what she had heard, he was well on his way to becoming Head of the Auror office.

But she had other business at hand, namely Harry. She would see him again today, and she was looking forward to it. She did however, at some point, have to tell him she was a witch. And she had no clue as to how she was going to do that.

She rounded the corner into his street, and her tummy gave her that funny feeling again. She looked up to his window, but couldn't make out if he was there or not. She shrugged, and crossed the street. She was so happy she was back again. She didn't know what it was, but the three days they had spent together had been great for her. She remembered her time with Bill Weasley a few years prior, and had to confess that even though they had been together for three years, Bill had never made her feel as Harry had done in only three days.

She was so deep in her thoughts, that she didn't notice a car coming her way. Only when this one sounded his horn franticly and pulled his brakes, that she noticed. But it was already too late. The care was mere feet away from her and surely it would it her...

She closed her eyes, as this was the only thing she could do, and waited for the impact.

**.o0O0o.**

She woke slowly. The light in the room was bright, and she tried to lift her arm to protect her eyes, but found that she couldn't move her arms. Her eyes fluttered, and shut again.

"She is waking up." She didn't recognise the voice. Well maybe she did but honestly, she didn't bother with it. She had more pressing matters to deal with.

The car. A car heading her way. It was going to hit her, she was sure of it.

"Miss Delacour? Miss Delacour, are you awake?"

She didn't know. It felt like she was. She tried to nod and it worked apparently, for she heard someone say,

"Good... Can you open your eyes?"

'_I can try...'_ she thought. And she tried.

The light was still bright, but it didn't bother her as much this time. Finally, she succeeded into opening her eyes. Getting used to the lighting and her environment, she tried to look around, but found that she couldn't move her head properly either. A face appeared above her.

"Try not to move to much dear. You've had a nasty blow." She recognised the face.

"P.. Professor McGonagall?" she asked weakly, and the Deputy Headmistress smiled softly.

"Yes dear, it's me. Don't worry, your injuries are bad, but not too bad. Severus is making skele-gro as we speak."

Skele-gro. That means they had to remove bones. Maybe that is why I couldn't move my arm. I close my eyes briefly, and notice that nothing really hurts. Sure, I'm feeling an annoying stingy feeling all over my body, but nothing actually hurt.

"W-what happened? Where am I? There were... Muggles..."

"Don't worry dear, everything is fine. The Muggles took you to a hospital. Professor Snape and I immediately came for you. We managed to get you out and back here. We left a few Order members at the hospital, to make sure no one would get suspicious. For anyone else, it would seem you are still in that hospital..."

I didn't fully understand, but didn't care.

"Harry... What abou..."

"You have to rest Fleur, don't worry about Harry. He knows of nothing, and after you recover, he will still be right there where he always was." I nod. I close my eyes again and feel sleepy.

"Professor... Can't you... bring a letter... to Harry?" McGonagall was slightly surprised by this, but nodded.

"I'll see what I can do dear. Now rest."

I complied and closed my eyes. Within moments, I was fast asleep.

**A/N: So that was chapter two. So yes, I think I pretty much just made myself to go and make a third chapter. No worries. Tell me what you think, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. **

**As you may have noticed, this plays after the books. Harry is around 23 years old here, which makes the year 2003. I said earlier in the chapter that He is a Muggle, but of course as you found out by now, he is still a wizard, who just grew up as a Muggle. If you have anything to comment ont chapters, please do. All feedback is welcome**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So, I'm finally starting on chapter 3. Sorry it took a while, I got a new job and been working a lot… Also spent some time on , check it out (my username is jimikelso). So, in this chapter I'm making a minor change, as you maybe will notice. I am going to switch from first person to third person writing. Mainly because even if I write in first person, it tends to turn third after a while... So this is different, please let me know what you think is better/easier on the eye/whatever; first or third person. Have fun reading.

The sun's warm beams of light fell through the window, right unto her bed. Though still half asleep, Fleur could already feel the warmth on her body, and smiled lightly at the idea of a nice and warm day. The window was open slightly, and a cool breeze played across her face, accompanied by the distant whistling of birds. It was almost out of a fairy tale.

It had been four days since her accident, and thanks to Snape's Skele-Gro and some other potions, she was almost good to go. On advice of Dumbledore though, she had stayed in bed a little longer to fully rest. But as she opened her eyes and slowly sat up straight in bed, she felt as good as ever, and immediately wanted to get outside…

Her tummy rumbled.

… or at least some food. She grinned to herself, as an automatic reaction to how she felt and the beautiful weather outside. She got out of bed and grabbed some clothes out of her trunk. A gray jogging pants and baby blue t-shirt, which was one size to large. Pulling her hair back in a ponytail, she made her way downstairs.

Mrs. Weasley's breakfast could be smelled through the whole house, and Fleur wasn't the only one on the move. One floor above her she could hear movement, which probably meant Charlie was up to. She walked up the small landing of the first floor and walked past Ginny's vacant room. The youngest Weasley had moved out two years earlier when she had been offered a contract as Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, and had been living in the same town ever since. However, it was almost Christmas, and Ginny was sure to come back for then.

Ginny wasn't the only one who had moved out. Both Fred and George lived in London, above their shop, _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes_, which they had finally managed to start of one and a half year earlier. They had had a difficult time getting the funds together, but after several successful samples and though negotiations, they had managed to get a franchise contract from Zonko's, which after a year, they managed to get rid off and stand on themselves as a shop. Since then, their high quality products and advertising campaign (on the courtesy of Zonko's), their sales had been going in a steep growth, and from what Fleur had gathered, their business kept going stronger and stronger. She had been glad for them, knowing they had put years of inventing, developing and saving up money in their business.

Ron was currently in Romania, filling in for Charlie, although he too would be back by Christmas. The youngest male Weasley had left for Romania the day after he graduated from Hogwarts. He had always looked up to Charlie, and later even discovered his own love for dragons. This and the idea of adventure abroad had driven him to start working for the same organization as his brother.

So it was only Mr and Mrs Weasley, Charlie, Percy and her. Bill was at work and would probably rent a room in the Leaky Cauldron that evening, as he had quite a few times in the past month. Work seemed to be going quite well...

It was kind of awkward, still. She and Bill had dated for a while, when Fleur had taken a part-time job at Gringotts. But after five years, things had gotten pretty rocky and after several heated months, they had gone separate ways. That had been three years ago now, and they had managed to be civilized against each other again, since a year. But when Fleur had been called to the UK by Dumbledore, she had had no place to stay, and Bill had insisted that she stayed at the Burrow. She had been reluctant at first, knowing Bill would be there since he had to be in London a lot. A quick reminiscence about the Leaky Cauldron though, and she had changed her mind.

So now, she had somehow been forced into a heart warming stay with an angry and grump ex-mother-in-law, a goofy and somewhat comical Mr Weasley, who was at work a lot, Percy Weasley who couldn't stop rambling about how busy work is and his usual banter, and Charlie Weasley, who seemed to be the only sane person in the house. Beside Fleur herself, maybe.

She walked into the kitchen and was greeted by a cooking Mrs Weasley. The smell of eggs and bacon was very strong here, and the Weasley matron was bending over the frying pan. Fleur noticed one plate of breakfast already on the table. She walked over to the counter to make some coffee, and that's when Mrs Weasley noticed her. The redheaded woman gave a tired, and maybe a little forced smile before focusing back on the eggs. Fleur finished making her coffee, not bothering to ask the other woman because she knew the Weasley mother didn't drink coffee.

"You can have that plate if you want, I'm making another one anyway, and Charlie hasn't come down yet." Mrs Weasley said over her shoulder to Fleur, who quickly diverted her attention to the older woman. She nodded, eyeing the plate.

"He's awake, I think. I heard movement when I got up." Mrs Weasley nodded.

"Alright, so I don't have to kick him out of bed... Just take the plate dear, I'll have finished this one by the time he gets down."

Fleur pulled the plate towards her and taking a first bite, she smiled lightly at the warmness she got from Mrs Weasley. They had never really been on the best terms, but since a year, when Bill and Fleur started talking again and Fleur occasionally visited the Burrow, Mrs Weasley had been growing less cold towards her.

The eggs were great and she enjoyed them in silence. When she was halfway through her breakfast, Mrs Weasley spoke up again.

"It's good to see you're alright again..." she voiced weakly, as if a little afraid to admit it. Fleur looked up from her plate, looking at the older woman's back.

"Thanks..." she said back, not really sure what to say either. They might've been more civilized to each other, they had never engaged in a serious conversation with each other, and now they were in this situation, Fleur felt awkward. Mrs Weasley nodded, and kept silent for a few more seconds until she said,

"Snape said that you'd ought to be fine by now. All your bones were done re-growing two days ago, and your concussion should be fully gone by Friday. Just take it easy until then and you should be able to survive it." Fleur nodded,

"Ok... When will professor Dumbledore be here?" she asked, but got only a shrug in reply.

"No idea dear. He was here four days ago, on Saturday. Said he had some things to do and he'd be back within a week or week and a half... We'll see, in the meantime you can rest up. Quite a nasty situation you got yourself in there, luckily nothing Snape and Dumbledore couldn't fix."

She was interrupted by Charlie entering the kitchen. He must've been running down the stairs and hallway, because he skidded to a halt and barely managed to stop himself from running into the table. A happy grin on his face and wearing jogging pants and a shirt, he sat down at the table. He looked from Fleur to his mother, and proclaimed,

"Good morning everybody. I hope you have all enjoyed a nice bed rest..." he said cheerily, and Fleur grinned at his good mood. Mrs Weasley cocked an eyebrow at her second eldest son as she handed him his eggs.

"What's gotten into you, jumping about?" she asked, turning around to clean the counter. Charlie grinned even wider and dug into his breakfast.

"My first day off in eight months! You know how liberating it is to sleep in for a change? Merlin, I really needed this holiday."

"Yes well, don't get too used to it... End next week it's back to Romania for you." His mother reminded him, and Charlie groaned.

"Mum, do you really need to remind me of that? Let me just enjoy my two weeks off without having to worry about work for once." He winked at Fleur. Mrs Weasley looked at him pointedly.

"As long as you make sure you do your job-"

"I'm doing it mum! It's just that senior staff-"

"Don't you interrupt me mister... I was going to say that I just hope that even though you have a holiday, you don't let it get in the way off your job. That's all." Charlie rolled his eyes, which Mrs Weasley didn't notice.

"Mum, I'm thirty-one, I don't need you to remind me of my work, thank you very much. I have everything under control and- just let me enjoy my holiday please mum?" Fleur giggled at Charlie's tormented face as he got into one of his usual quarrels with his mother. She had noticed that Fred and George hadn't been the only one Mrs Weasley fussed about. Charlie Weasley was her second most favourite target, and was usually annoying him about his hair, his 'disgusting' clothes. But since he had become Chairman of the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary, she had been pressing him even more to do his work.

"And look out for your brother. If I get any letter saying he's been heavily burnt or something like you were, I swear..." she went on and on, her back to them and still bent over the frying pan. Charlie rolled his eyes and leaned towards Fleur, whispering,

"If she knew how often I got hurt, she'd kill me... This is why dragonologists never write home, contradictory to popular belief. " Fleur choked on her eggs while stifling her laughter. This got Mrs Weasley's attention, and she stopped her speech and turned around, giving them a stern look. Charlie just managed to sit back straight, and the two did their best not to laugh. Mrs Weasley narrowed her eyes at them.

"What are you two whispering and laughing about?" Charlie shook his head.

"Nothing mum, just... Look, you can tell Ron to look out for himself, he's a big boy. He's coming tomorrow anyway, no need to tell me... He's twenty-three for Merlin's sake..." and he ate his own eggs. His mother shrugged.

"I just wished he'd have more sense than to go to Romania... Studying dragons, really..."

"Mum, I do exactly the same work, and just yesterday you told me how proud you are of me."

"Yes well, _you_ know what you're doing. Ronnie-kins, he's only been at it for six months." Charlie sighed tiredly, with a slightly amused undertone.

"Years mum, six _years_... He's not seventeen anymore you know, he's been exposed to everything all of the other and me went through, and he got out with flying colours, no broken bones involved whatsoever." He assured her, his fingers crossed under the table. Honestly, if his mother had known exactly what Ron had endured the last six years, they'd both be dead. And if she found out that that still wasn't half as bad as Charlie's first years, she'd bring them back as Inferi and kill them again, any means necessary.

"Right. I still can't believe you left him there on his own. Poor boy doesn't know_what_ to do."

This clearly annoyed Charlie without any trace of amusement. He looked pointedly at his mother.

"Really mum, you think I'd leave him there to die? First off, I know he knows what to do. Secondly he's got John, Vasile, Konstantin, Flavia, Kareem, Sanjib... Everybody except Raja, Damir, Stuart and me. Oh and before I forget, John is coming with Ron tomorrow, he'll be sleeping over during Christmas."

For the second time, the Weasley matron turned around and looked at her son.

"Oh. And you thought it was a good idea to just tell me now?" Charlie shrugged, gulping down another bite of his breakfast.

"Forgot... Could be worse though, could've told you when he got here." But Mrs Weasley just shook her head.

"I don't care, your father and Bill aren't going to be here anyway, so we got two extra seats. Just know that _I_am not going to prepare a bed for John." Charlie looked at her, frowning.

"What do you mean dad and Bill won't be there?" Mrs Weasley sighed annoyed.

"Stuck at work. Both Gringotts and the Ministry are in negotiations about Gringotts place in the Wizarding community, and they both have to be there. Typical I tell you, it requires an actual attack before they start thinking about coming up with decent plans..." Charlie didn't listen anymore. He and Fleur had both finished their breakfast and he got up and put both their plates on the counter.

"Hmm... well, I can see dad before and after that anyway. And about John's sleeping place, he can sleep in Bill's bed. He won't mind. Anyway," he said quickly when his mother wanted to say something, "I'm going to take a shower, and then I'm off to Diagon Alley. Need to stop by Flourish and Blotts, maybe Obscurus... Need to stop by the apothecary too, fresh out of gillyweed. Can you imagine? I'm in Romania at the market, the Mediterranean Sea, and no one's got gillyweed!" he shook his head and Fleur, who'd watched the interaction between the two Weasley's with amusement and interest, frowned. Being a fair potion-maker herself, she knew that gillyweed was native to Mediterranean Sea area, so the traders not having any was peculiar. But this didn't seem very important to her, so she said,

"Mind if I come with you? I haven't been in Diagon Alley for a while, and I'd really like some of Florean Fortesque's pumpkin ice cream." Charlie nodded.

"Sure, you want to shower after me or now?" but she shook her head.

"You go now, I want to go through some of my stuff." Charlie shrugged and with an 'Okay', he had disappeared again.

.o000o.

Fleur loved staying at the Burrow, and it's cosiness. A nice change from the fairly sized mansion her parents had. It had it's upside, growing up in a well-off family, but that didn't mean she needed comfort and luxury all the time. And during her five year stay in London she had learned very well the value of money, and her perception of the world. When she had been younger she had been very easy with those things, mainly because it was no worry in the Delacour life. But despite her father's lessons and teachings and constant speeches about independence, when she had moved to London to start at Gringotts, it had been hell to get by on her own.

But she had managed, and now, years later, it filled her with joy to be back again. She loved Diagon Alley, especially on days like these, when the weather was nice and people were about shopping, talking or just eating ice cream. The latter conveniently being one of Fleur's main reasons to be there.

After she and Charlie and gone to Gringotts to collect money, and had a short but awkward run in with Bill, they had quickly gone for Charlie's shopping, which turned out to be to a book on enchantment using dragon ingredients, and one about advanced potion making, which he told her was for John Connolly, who was another dragonologists, or Dragonkeeper, as they referred to themselves.

And now they were happily and lazily seated outside of Florean Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlour, both eating their ice cream. They didn't say much, as both were pretty tired. Or rather, lazy. Fleur was still taking it easy after her incident, but even though Molly had said she had a concussion, she didn't feel anything. Only after they had finished their ice, that they spoke.

"So I heard you were in London this weekend. And I know you weren't in Diagon Alley." He said when she gave him a questioning look, "I heard from Bill, who heard from dad, who again heard from Lupin, who said you had... you know." He didn't want to say it out loud, as to not draw any attention. But it wasn't necessary, as Fleur knew exactly what he was talking about. She nodded.

'"True." She said simply, and Charlie nodded, looking around the street.

"So," he said after a while, "any luck?" he looked back at Fleur, who smiled.

"Yes, I found him..." even though he already knew this, Charlie was still slightly put off by this. He scratched his cheek, noting to himself he needed a shave, and said,

"Wow... so we actually found him." Fleur nodded. They went silent again, each left to their own thoughts, but also because it wasn't completely safe to discuss these matters in such a public place.

It might not have been obvious, but peace was a loose term in the Wizarding community. Ever since 1994, more and more Death Eater activity had been monitored, building up to a climax in June 1996, when a group of Death Eaters had attempted to attack Hogwarts and kill Dumbledore. Fortunately, this particular group of Death Eaters had not been the brightest bunch, the only seasoned one among them being Fenrir Greyback. Even though they had managed to blow up the Great Hall and two of the five courtyards, they had been caught rather quickly and sent to Azkaban. After a year of repairs, Hogwarts had been back in business again, but this time with extra security.

The incident had also cause Dumbledore to reform the Order of the Phoenix, seen that the Ministry was as incompetent as ever. After a few years, the Order had managed to set up quite an impressive spy network, but still Death Eater attacks were occurring.

But the last two years had been different. It was true that Death Eaters had been active for quite a while now, but for the first time in three decades were they this hell-bent on disrupting society. It started out as normal murders and disappearances, as normal as they could be, but for a few months more and more attacks in public were taking place. And only months ago, the bad news had reached them.

Apparently, Voldemort had managed to get hold of an artefact that granted him a temporarily body. Rumour among the population had it that Death Eaters were going crazy after the Potter-disappearance. Word in the Order was that Voldemort had clues as to where Potter was.

But of course, Dumbledore never failed to succeed and after years, one of his sources came back with actual results. Just three weeks after the last attack, which had been two months earlier, on Gringotts, he had gotten news of Harry's whereabouts. And indeed, as Fleur stood witness he had been right.

She looked to her left, past Charlie and up the street at Gringotts. Even though the front area had been completely obliterated, this was concealed extremely well. Not wanting to upset the people even more, Gringotts and Ministry officials had put special wards on the bank. It may have looked and felt like it had been restored, but these were all illusions as to make everything seem normal. In truth, the Bank was nowhere near restored. Luckily, the goblins were a neat bunch, had despite all the papers and documents that had been lost and burnt, they had copies of everything, even documents from centuries past. Say what you want, but a goblin is always prepared.

"Do you think he'll make any difference." She was snapped out of her daydreaming by Charlie, and focused on him.

"What do you mean?" Charlie shrugged.

"I don't know, with everything that's going on I mean.. You think he could... _help_us?" this made her think, and she shrugged in the meanwhile, contemplating her thoughts.

Even though she very well understood the situation they were in, and what Harry could mean for them, they were not at war, per se. Voldemort was not yet an affirmed threat yet, and Death Eaters weren't all that mind-blowingly clever either. But they were cunning, and sneaky, and this worked to their advantages. Despite being a small and fairly known group, they had managed to pull off a lot of things the past few years, and they were, slowly but surely, gaining the upper hand. She wondered how long it would take before people wouldn't leave their houses anymore.

"I don't know, I mean... I've only seen him once, I don't what he can do. Still, if everything is true, he doesn't know the first thing about magic, so yeah... I doubt he can be of any real significance.. Yet, anyway." Charlie nodded, understanding what she meant.

"It's not a lost cause," he said himself, "after all, he still is a wizard, he just never practised it. And with what's going on lately, I'm sure Dumbledore will teach him himself, with help of course. I don't think he expects a twenty-three year old with no experience or knowledge over magic whatsoever to just magically make everything alright. No pun intended."

That was all they had to say about the subject for that day, neither wanting to ruin the day's good feeling with such heavy topics. They'd have enough of those the coming two weeks. After all, holidays were the only time when everybody in the Order actually had time to get together without people not attending. But for now, she and Charlie enjoyed the warm sun and cloudless sky, as they both ordered another ice cream.

A/N: So that's it for now. I know, nothing happens, and I admit that this was just a filler, to check my writing style. But I hope I still managed to give you guys a better view of what the Wizarding World is like at the moment, this was my goal for this chapter also.

So anyway, I hope you liked it, sorry for keeping you guys waiting, but it took me three weeks to write this... And it's not even a good chapter, go figure. But I hope you guys like it and hopefully leave a review. Have a good one.


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